Transdermal diffusion cell testing vessel and methods using same

Abstract

Vessel for transdermal diffusion cell testing includes a container defining an interior chamber having an opening against which skin is placed, and a casing arranged partially around and spaced apart from part of the container to define a compartment therebetween. The chamber retains a saline solution and is not in flow communication with the compartment through which water is circulated. The vessel includes separate inlet ports and outlet ports, each including a conduit communicating with the chamber or compartment. The outlet port of the chamber is arranged above the inlet port of the chamber, proximate the opening of the chamber, and is angled downward relative to a horizontal upper surface of the container against which skin being tested is placed. Tilting of the vessel prior to or during introduction of solution prevents air bubbles from remaining between the skin and the solution.

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION[0001]The present invention relates generally to a testing vessel and more particularly to a testing vessel for transdermal diffusion cell testing. The present invention also relates to a method for introducing solution into an interior chamber of such a vessel when used for transdermal diffusion cell testing, either initially or to replenish solution removed during testing and sampling, and a method for maintaining a substantially uniform temperature distribution in a plurality of such vessels when used for transdermal diffusion cell testing.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION[0002]Transdermal diffusion cell testing is a very tedious procedure. The primary objective of the test is to study the penetration rate of a pharmaceutical compound or drug through skin. A common way to perform transdermal diffusion cell testing is by mounting a layer of skin or epidermis between a cell cap (donor) and a cell body (receptor). The skin or epidermis is bathed from below with a sol...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0012]With the foregoing structure, the present invention significantly improves transdermal diffusion cell testing by eliminating the presence of air bubbles between the skin and the solution and thereby improving the testing results. Moreover, by maintaining the temperature of the solution in multiple vessels in a fixed range, a subsequent averaging of the test results from the vessels provides more accurate test results since variability in the temperature conditions of multiple vessels has been eliminated.

Problems solved by technology

That is, the tilting of the vessel may be performed automatically by a tilting mechanism connected to a plate on which the vessel is placed, which in combination with the inclination of the first outlet port relative to the container, causes movement of any air bubbles to the first outlet port and thus would not remain under the skin and adversely affect the diffusion of the pharmaceutical compound or drug through the skin into the solution.

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